Thoracic region comfort vehicle seating system with pneumatic adjustment

ABSTRACT

A vehicle seat is provided, in at least one embodiment, comprising a seatback comprising a cushion having a first hardness, and a pneumatic thoracic support structure positioned adjacent the cushion. In at least one embodiment, the pneumatic thoracic support structure comprises a first bladder selectively inflatable to provide a first area having a second hardness higher than the first hardness, with the first area being disposed along a thoracic region of a user&#39;s spine when a user is seated in the seat to provide support to at least a portion of the thoracic region of the user&#39;s spine.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/200,870 filed Mar. 7, 2014, which, in turn, claims the benefit ofU.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/781,066 filed Mar. 14, 2013,the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety byreference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application is directed to a thoracic region comfort supportsystem for a vehicle seatback.

BACKGROUND

In a seated position, the thoracic region of a person's spine isrequired to support much of the person's upper body mass. When seated ina vehicle seat, particularly for extended periods of time, the musclesof the person's upper body and vertebrae and discs in the thoracic,lumbar and pelvic regions of the spine can become significantlyfatigued.

SUMMARY

In at least one embodiment, a vehicle seat is provided comprising aseatback comprising a cushion having a first hardness and a pneumaticthoracic support structure positioned adjacent the cushion. In at leastthis embodiment, the pneumatic thoracic support structure comprises afirst bladder selectively inflatable to provide a first area having asecond hardness higher than the first hardness, with the first areabeing disposed along a thoracic region of a user's spine when a user isseated in the seat to provide support to at least a portion of thethoracic region of the user's spine.

In at least another embodiment, a vehicle seat is provided comprising aseatback comprising a foam cushion having a first hardness, with thefoam cushion having a cavity located between the midpoint and upperone-third of the seatback and foam portions adjacent the cavity, and apneumatic thoracic support structure positioned within the cavity in theseatback. In at least this embodiment, the pneumatic thoracic supportstructure is selectively inflatable to provide an area having a secondhardness 25-200% higher than the first hardness.

In at least yet another embodiment, a pneumatic thoracic supportstructure positionable within a cavity of vehicle seatback comprising afoam cushion having a first hardness and a cavity located between themidpoint and upper one-third of the seatback is provided. In thisembodiment, the pneumatic thoracic support structure comprises aselectively inflatable volume having a second hardness when inflated,with the second hardness being 25-200% higher than the first hardness,and the selectively inflatable volume being disposed along a thoracicregion a user's spine when the support structure is positioned withinthe cavity and when a user is seated in the seat to provide support toat least a portion of the thoracic region of the user's spine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cut-away front view of an exemplary vehicle seatassembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of an exemplary seatback cushionassembly useable with the seat assembly of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing another exemplary seatbackcushion assembly useable with the seat assembly of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a bladder design usable with aseatback cushion assembly of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a vehicle seat assembly with aportion of the trim cover removed for better illustration in accordancewith another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an exemplary component usable with theseat assembly of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of a portion of a seat assembly inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present disclosure aredisclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are merely examples of the disclosure that may be embodiedin various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily toscale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details ofparticular components. Therefore, specific structural and functionaldetails disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, butmerely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art tovariously employ the present disclosure.

Moreover, except where otherwise expressly indicated, all numericalquantities in this disclosure are to be understood as modified by theword “about” in describing the broader scope of this invention. Practicewithin the numerical limits stated is generally preferred. Also, unlessexpressly stated to the contrary, the description of a group or class ofmaterials by suitable or preferred for a given purpose in connectionwith the invention implies that mixtures of any two or more members ofthe group or class may be equally suitable or preferred.

It is believed that supporting the thoracic region of the spine canreduce forces and support as much as one-third of the upper body mass.By increasing support of the upper body mass, loads can be reduced onthe muscles, vertebrae and discs in the lumbar region and pelvic regionof the spine. Decreased load reduces fatigue on these areas of the body.The current prevalent comfort back supporting technology for the vehicleseatbacks focuses on the lumbar (lower) region of the back to providerelief from fatigue.

The present disclosure relates to a support structure as part of acomfort vehicular seating system to provide supporting pressure alongthe thoracic region of the user's spine between the T2 to T12 vertebrae.In certain embodiments, the support structure is to be positioned alongthe thoracic region of a seat back when the user is seated. In at leastone embodiment, the support structure has an adjustable center portionthat, when inflated, provides higher resistance to deflection than thesurrounding or adjacent seat foam cushion. Thus, the support structureprovides a seating system having a center portion that is harder thanthe adjacent softer side portions. In at least one embodiment, the sizeof the center portion is 60-100 mm wide by 150-250 mm tall, with anouter area being 75-100 mm wide by 200-300 mm tall. In this embodiment,the center portion is intended to provide spinal support while the sideportions are designed to allow the area along either side of the spineto sink in with less resistance than in the center portion. In at leastone embodiment, the support structure is formed of an inflatable airbladder so that the center portion of the seat assembly has a higherhardness and resistance to deflection than the foam forming the sideportions adjacent the support structure. In at least one embodiment, thefoam is a constant thickness with hardness ranging from 100 to 500N whenmeasured per ASTM D3574 Section B1 with an 8 inch diameter platendeflecting 50% of the thickness or 50 to 300N when measured per ASTMD3574 Section B1 with an 8 inch diameter platen deflecting 25% of thefoam thickness. In certain embodiments, the bladders vary in thicknessand resistance to deflection depending on how much they are inflated ascontrolled by the occupant and determined by their personal preference.The support structure can be used in a variety of seating systems. Someexemplary seating systems and components are shown and described below.

A comfort seating system for vehicle seating provides supportingpressure, or in other words a higher pressure relative to adjacentpositions, along the thoracic region of the user's spine between the T2to T12 vertebrae. This system can be either static, non-adjustable, oradjustable to accommodate a wider variety of occupant sizes. It shouldbe understood that, the deflection resistance pressure of the outer foamregion and the inner pneumatic bladder region can vary depending on thedegree of bladder inflation and amount of penetration by an occupantinto the seating system. For example for 10 mm of travel and 1.0 psibladder inflation the foam pad imparts 0.00432 N/mm² of support and thecenter support system imparts 0.00625 N/mm² of support representing44.7% higher hardness than the surrounding foam. As another example, for10 mm of travel and 2.5 psi bladder inflation the foam pad imparts0.00432 N/mm² of support and the center support system imparts 0.00858N/mm² of support representing a 98.6% higher hardness than thesurrounding foam. As another example, for 12.8 mm of travel and 2.5 psibladder inflation the foam pad imparts 0.00478 N/mm² of support and thecenter support system imparts 0.01115 N/mm² of support representing a133.3% higher hardness than the surrounding foam. In certainembodiments, the center support portion is 25-200% harder than adjacentareas of the seat cushion foam, in other embodiments 40-150% harder thanadjacent areas of the seat cushion foam, in yet other embodiments50-100% harder than adjacent areas of the seat cushion foam.

There are four main factors that affect subjective comfort: 1)smoothness of the pressure integral; 2) sufficiency of the pressurechange; 3) ability to create even pressure for a wide range ofanthropometry; and 4) ergonomic/control suitability of actuation.

A thoracic region comfort seating system design is focused on addressingsubjective comfort factors. Smoothness of the pressure integral isaccomplished by having a centroid of supporting high pressure with alower pressure zone surrounding either side of the central support topromote a feeling of smooth transition from center to outer edges. Incertain embodiments, the center support position is 25-200% harder thanadjacent areas of the seat cushion foam, in other embodiments 40-150%harder than adjacent areas of the seat cushion foam, in yet otherembodiments 50-100% harder than adjacent areas of the seat cushion foam.In this manner, the occupant will experience relatively littlediscomfort from feeling the hardness transition between parts of thedesign. In addition, by supporting the thoracic region, the user'smuscular ligamentous structures are supported which may increasebiomechanical abilities and efficiencies for the muscular, physiologicaland neurological systems.

Sufficiency of the pressure change and the need to create even pressurefor a wide range of anthropometry can be accommodated by either havingthe degree of pressure adjustable, or if not adjustable, positioned inthe seat back in a location representing a typical location above theseating cushion surface and the T12/L1 vertebrae as measured inanthropometric studies of the fiftieth percentile male and femalepopulation, (location of the thoracic region), thereby minimizing thepossibility of larger or smaller occupants experiencing discomfort. Forinstance, the range of T1 to T12 location from typical seat H-Pointlocation by occupant is 204-466 mm for a small female, 241-507 mm for amid-sized male, and 268-550 mm for a large male, based on crash dummysizes; and seated height to shoulder of typical occupants is 538 mm fora small female, 604 mm for a mid-sized male, and 676 mm for a largemale, (range=138 mm) (based on ANSUR data). In at least certainembodiments, the area of applied pressure moves within these ranges inorder for each sized occupant to experience the desired support. In atleast certain embodiments, any area great than 550 mm or less than 204mm from the H-point, (Hip point measurement) of the seat would beconsidered higher or lower than needed. In at least one embodiment, theunit is centered (i.e., located in a region from the midpoint of theupper ⅓ of the seatback to the midpoint of the seatback) in the seat andsized to accommodate a variety of occupant widths. Ergonomic control andsuitability of actuation may be accomplished by having the ability tocontrol pressure and location by adjusting the location and angularposition of the unit up, down, forward and/or rearward.

Referring now to the figures, where like numerals are used to designatelike structure throughout to the drawings, a schematic vehicle seatassembly in accordance with at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure is generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1. While the vehicle seatassembly 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1 to be a bucket seat assembly, itshould be understood that the principles of the present disclosure areapplicable to other types of seat assemblies, such as bench, captain,and other types of seat assemblies.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat assembly 10 includes a seat frame,generally indicated at 14 having a plurality of mounting brackets (notshown) adapted to operatively secure the seat frame within a vehicle.The seat frame 14 may be constructed from any material suitable forapplication within a vehicle seat assembly 10, such as aluminum, steelor other metal alloy or a suitable polymer. Further, the seat frame 14may be manufactured using a technique commonly known in the art,relative to the type of material employed. By way of example,manufacturing techniques may include stamping, welding, fastening ormolding a suitable material to form a seat frame 14.

The vehicle seat assembly 10 includes a seat back, generally indicatedat 16, and a lower seat assembly, generally indicated at 18. The vehicleseat assembly 10 further includes a back foam cushion 32 and a seat foamcushion generally indicated at 34. The back foam cushion 32 and the seatfoam cushion 34 are conventionally secured to the seat frame 14 and/or aseat assembly infrastructure (not shown). The foam cushions 32 and 34may be secured to the seat frame 14 and/or infrastructure by any methodgenerally known in the art, such as by an adhesive.

The vehicle seat assembly 10 also includes a trim material 36 adapted toengage the foam cushions 32 and 34 in a covering relationship. The trimmaterial 36 may include any material commonly known in the art. By wayof example, some of the known materials include cloth, leather, orpolymers of sufficient quality and thickness for use in seat trimapplications. Polymer trim materials may include a flexible closed cellpolymer skin material such as polyvinyl, polyvinyl chloride (PVC),thermoplastic olefin (TPO), or thermoplastic urethane (TPU).Additionally, materials for use as trim material 36 may include a foambacking (not shown, but generally known in the art) which may bemanufactured from a variety of polymer foam materials. By way ofexample, the foam backing may be polyethylene, polypropylene,polyurethane, or a polystyrene foam. Optionally, a mesh or reinforcingmaterial (not shown, but generally known in the art) such as fiberglassor nylon may be applied to the foam backing or back of the trim material34 for increasing strength without increasing rigidity.

The seat cushions 32 and 34 each have an upper surface 38 and a lowersurface 39 spaced from the upper surface 38. The upper surface 38 of theseat cushions 32 and 34 may be referred to as the “A” surface, and thelower surface 39 may be referred to as the “B” surface.

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic illustration of the exemplary seatback foamcushion assembly 32 of FIG. 1. The cushion 32 can be any suitable sizeand shape and in at least one embodiment is 2 to 10 cm thick, and inother embodiments are 3 to 10 cm thick. The exemplary seatback foamcushion 32 includes a central support portion 40 and side bolsters 42and 44. In at least one embodiment, the central support portion 40includes a recess 48 that receives a thoracic support assembly 50. In atleast one embodiment, the recess 48 is located in a region from themidpoint of the upper ⅓ of the seatback to the midpoint of the seatback16. In other words, in at least one embodiment, the midpoint of therecess 48 is at the midpoint of the seatback 16, between the upper ⅓ ofthe seatback to the half-way point of the seatback.

The thoracic support assembly 50 can be secured within the recess 48 inany suitable manner, such as by in molding with the foam, positioned inan opening that extends ⅓ to ½ of the depth of the foam pad, withadhesive, hook/loop fastener, with attachment wire molded into the foamor an interference or friction fit. In another embodiment, a plate orany suitable bracket (not shown) can be secured to the lower surface 39of the cushion assembly 32 to maintain the thoracic support assembly 50in position. It should be understood that the recess 48 could originatefrom the upper surface 38, and thus face towards the occupant, or couldoriginate from the lower surface 39 and thus face away from theoccupant. In at least the illustrated embodiment, the central supportportion 40 has side portions 46 adjacent the thoracic support assembly50. It should be understood that the seat cushion 32 can be any suitablesize and made of any suitable cushion material and by any suitablecushion making process. It should also be understood that the cushion 32is similar to conventional cushions except that it has a recess 48 orother suitable receptacle for housing the thoracic support assembly 50.It should also be understood that the recess 48 can be made by anysuitable process such as by molding a recess into the cushion or bycutting or machining a recess into the cushion.

In at least the illustrated embodiment, the thoracic support assembly 50has a width W of 5 to 20 cm and a length of 7 to 40 cm, and in anotherembodiment, a width W of 7 to 15 cm and a length L of 24 to 30 cm, andis positioned in the cushion assembly 32 to align with the thoracicregion of an average user's spine. In at least one embodiment, the sideportions 46 of the central support portion 40 of the seat assemblyindependently have a width of 4 to 15 cm, and in another embodiment of 3to 13 cm. In at least one embodiment, in its unactuated position theouter surface 52 of the thoracic support assembly 50 can be mounted tobe flush with the upper surface 38 or the lower surface 39, or could beembedded a distance, such as 15 to 55 mm, and in other embodiments 20 to55 mm, from the upper or lower surfaces 38, 39. In at least oneembodiment, when inflated or actuated, the outer surface 52 of thethoracic support assembly 50 will protrude a distance, such as 15 to 55mm, and in other embodiments of 20 to 45 mm, from the upper or lowersurface 38, 39, or if embedded within the cushion assembly 32, willdisplace a sizeable distance, such as 40 to 75 mm causing the uppersurface 38 of the cushion assembly 32 to protrude a less sizeabledistance, such as 20 to 55 mm. In at least the illustrated embodiment,the thoracic support assembly 50 is the general shape of a square, orrectangle having a low aspect ratio. It is also contemplated howeverthat the thoracic support assembly 50 may have any suitable shape suchas, but not limited to, rectangle having a higher aspect ratio, atrapezoid, an inverted trapezoid, a triangle, a circle, or a pear-shape.

The exemplary thoracic support assembly 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 is madeof any suitable material and provides an inflatable chamber or air orother fluid bladder that communicates with a pneumatic fluid source,such as air, to selectively fill the chamber with air or other suitablefluid. In doing so, as the chamber fills, the outer surface 52 of thethoracic support assembly 50 is urged forward away from the uppersurface 38 of the seat cushion 32 and more specifically the centralsupport portion 40 of the seat cushion assembly 32. As pressure buildsin the chamber, the outer surface 52 of the thoracic support assembly 50is urged forward a suitable distance, such as between 15 and 55 mm, tocause pressure in the thoracic region area of a user's spine. Thus, wheninflated or actuated, the outer surface 52 of the thoracic supportassembly 50 moves a first distance from its unactuated position to itsactuated position. In at least one embodiment, the first distance is 15to 55 mm, in other embodiments 20 to 45 mm, in yet other embodiments 40to 75 mm, in yet other embodiments 20 to 55 mm. The pressure inside theinflated, or activated, thoracic support assembly 50 in at least oneembodiment is 0.1 to 12 psi (pounds/square inch), in at least anotherembodiment 0.2 to 8 psi, and in yet other embodiments of 0.5 to 5 psi.

As shown in FIG. 3, another embodiment of a thoracic support assembly 60is shown. The thoracic support assembly 60 is similar to the thoracicsupport assembly 50 of FIG. 2 in construction, materials and operationwith an exception of multiple bladders 62 and 64 being provided asopposed to the single bladder of the assembly 50 of FIG. 2. Each bladder62 and 64 can be operated independently to provide a desired pressure toa selected area of a user's spine. The upper bladder 62 can be employedwhen a user has a thoracic region located in the upper back, such as a50 percentile male, that is located at an elevated position relative toan average user's spine. The lower air bladder 64 can be inflated when arelatively small user with a thoracic region positioned lower than onthe average person's back, such as for a 5 percentile female is seatedin the vehicle seat assembly. For larger users who have a relativelylarge or high thoracic region, both the air bladders 62 and 64 can bepressurized as needed. Each bladder 62 and 64 can be individuallyinflated with individual pressure regulation. In at least oneembodiment, each of the bladders 62 and 64 can independently inflate toa pressure 0.2 to 8 psi, and in at least another embodiment of 0.4 to 4psi. In at least the illustrated embodiment, the upper bladder 62 of thethoracic support assembly 60 has a width W of 5 to 20 cm and a length of7 to 20 cm, and in another embodiment, a width W of 3 to 15 cm and alength L of 16 to 25 cm. In at least the illustrated embodiment, thelower bladder 64 of the thoracic support assembly 60 has a width W of 5to 20 cm and a length of 3 to 10 cm, and in another embodiment, a widthW of 7 to 15 cm and a length L of 3 to 7 cm.

Referring to FIG. 4, another example of a thoracic support assembly 80is shown. The thoracic support assembly 80 illustrated in FIG. 4 hasmultiple centrally aligned overlapping bladders or chambers 82, 84 and86 extending along the central portion of the thoracic support assembly80 and can have optional side bladders 88 on opposing sides of thecentral bladders 82-86. As shown in this embodiment, the bladder in thisand other embodiments can be assembled with overlap so that a portion ofthe upper bladder covers a portion of the adjacent lower bladder. Thishas been found to provide additional comfort in some embodiments. Eachbladder 82-86 can be designed to inflate in sequence with the lowerchamber 86 being inflated first and the upper chamber 82 being inflatedlast. In at least one embodiment, the bladders 82-86 each have adimension (width×length) of 10×15 cm, and in another embodiment of7.5×11.5 cm. Each chamber 82-86 can be individually inflated withindividual pressure regulation and/or filled in unison, in any order(i.e., from lower bladder to upper bladder, from upper bladder to lowerbladder, or any other order). In at least one embodiment, each of thechambers 82-86 can independently inflate to a pressure of 0.1 to 8 psi,in at least another embodiment of 0.2 to 4 psi, and in yet anotherembodiment of 0.5 to 2.5 psi. Such an arrangement allows for a specifictailoring of the location and an amount of pressure to be placed on auser's spine depending upon the location of the user's thoracic region.

Moreover, each of the side chambers 88, if present, can also beindependently inflated and pressure regulated as needed. In at least oneembodiment, each of the side chambers 88 can independently inflate to apressure of 0.1 to 7 psi, and in at least another embodiment of 0.2 to 4psi. In at least one embodiment, the side chambers 88 each have adimension (width×length) of 70 mm×300 mm, and in another embodiment of150 to 260 mm. The side chambers 88 are optional and/or optionallyinflatable, and in at least one embodiment are used only if extrapressure is desired to help push the thoracic support assembly 80, andspecifically the central bladders 82-86, towards the outer surface ofthe cushion assembly. It should be noted that the side chambers 88 couldoptionally be located behind or to the rear of chambers 82-86, asopposed to, or in addition to, being located on the side of chambers82-86. The center chambers 82-86, when inflated, create a higherpressure zone than the optional adjacent side chambers 88, if inflated,or adjacent seat foam. In at least one embodiment, pressure differentialin the center 82-86 is 20 to 50% more psi relative to the adjacentareas.

While FIG. 4 illustrates a thoracic support assembly 80 having threecentrally aligned bladders, it should be understood that any suitablenumber of central bladders could be employed. For instance, thoracicsupport assemblies having four or more chambers could be employed. Ascan be readily understood, any number of chambers and size, shape andspacing of chambers could be employed as desired.

As shown in FIG. 5, another embodiment of a seat assembly 100 is shown.The seat assembly 100 has a trim cover 102 having a central portionremoved for illustrative purposes. In at least one embodiment, the seatassembly 100 has seatback 103 having a center portion 104 having athoracic support assembly 108 therein. In at least the illustratedembodiment, the thoracic support assembly 108 comprises a bladderassembly 112 received within the seatback 103. In at least oneembodiment, the bladder assembly 112 is received within a cutoutportion, or a molded cavity, in the foam cushion of the seatback 103 ina similar manner and location as the thoracic support assembly 50described above. For instance, the bladder assembly 112 can be moldedwith the foam, positioned in an opening that extends ⅓ to ½ of the depthof the foam pad, and attached in any suitable manner, such as by inmolding with the foam, positioned in an opening that extends ⅓ to ½ ofthe depth of the foam pad, with adhesive, hook/loop fastener, withattachment wire molded into the foam, or an interference or frictionfit. In at least the illustrated embodiment, the bladder assembly 112has a plurality of central bladders 114, 116 and 118 and a plurality oflaterally spaced side bladders 120. As can be readily appreciated, eachof the bladders 114-120 can be selectively inflated and have a separatepressure monitor so that desired portions of the seat assembly 100 canbe pressurized as needed.

In at least the illustrated embodiment, the upper and lower centralbladders 114 and 118 are the same size and the middle central bladder116 is bigger than the upper and lower central bladders 114 and 118.However, it should be understood that the bladders 114, 116 and 118 canbe the same size or could be different sizes as desired. In at least theillustrated embodiments, the upper and lower central bladders 114 and118 are smaller than the middle central bladder 116. Each of the centralbladders 114-118 can be designed to inflate in sequence with the lowercentral bladder 118 being inflated first and the upper central bladder118 being inflated last. In at least one embodiment, the central bladder114-118 each have an independent dimension (width×length) of 3×8 cm.Each bladder 114-118 can be individually inflated with individualpressure regulation and/or filled in unison, in any order, i.e., fromlower central bladder to upper central bladder, from upper centralbladder to lower central bladder, or any other order. In at least oneembodiment, each of the bladders 114-118 can independently inflate to apressure of 0.2 to 8 psi and in at least another embodiment of 0.4 to 4psi. Such an arrangement allows for a specific tailoring of the locationand amount of pressure to be placed on a user's spine depending upon thelocation of the user's thoracic region.

In at least the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the bladderassembly 112 includes ten (10) laterally spaced side bladders 120, withfive (5) of the laterally spaced front side bladders 120 being on theright upper side of the bladder assembly 112 and forming a right bladderzone 115 and the other five (5) of the laterally spaced side bladders120 being on the left upper side of the bladder assembly 112 and forminga left bladder zone 117, with the central bladders 114-118 separatingthe right and left bladder zones 115 and 117. In at least oneembodiment, each of the side bladders 120 can also be independentlyinflated and pressure regulated as needed. In at least one embodiment,each of the laterally spaced side bladders 120 can independently inflateto a pressure of 0.1 to 7 psi, and in at least another embodiment of 0.2to 3 psi. In at least one embodiment, each of the side bladders 120 havea dimension (width×length) of 75 mm×150 mm, and in another embodiment of100 mm to 125 mm. Furthermore, while the side bladders 120 are shown tobe uniform in size and shape, it should be understood that the size andshape can individually vary as well as the location can vary as needed.

In at least one embodiment, the central bladders 114-118 inflate to ahigher pressure than the side bladder 120, such as 20-35% higher, toprovide additional support to the spinal column in the thoracic region.In at least one embodiment, the central bladders 114-118 take up an areaof 40 to 85 cm², and in another embodiment of 50 to 75 cm² and exert abladder pressure over this area of 0.2 to 8 psi, and in anotherembodiment of 0.4 to 4 psi. In at least one embodiment, the each of theright and left bladder zones 115 and 117 take up an area of 400 to 565cm², and in another embodiment of 420 to 565 cm² and exert a bladderpressure over these areas of 0.1 to 7 psi, and in another embodiment of0.2 to 3 psi.

As can best be seen in FIG. 6, in at least the illustrated embodiments,a logic and inflator module control 130 is provided for controlling thepressurization of the bladders 114-120.

Referring to FIG. 7, another embodiment of a seat assembly 140 is shown.The seat assembly 140 of FIG. 7 has a thoracic support assemblycomprising a pneumatic adjustment assembly 150 having a tubular bladderthat has varying wall thickness such that certain portions will inflatewhile other portions will remain relatively unchanged in response to anincrease of fluid or pressure buildup in the tube 150. While notillustrated, it should be understood that more than one tubular bladdercould be used, with the tubular bladder optionally being spaced apart.These tubular bladder(s) can be any suitable size. In at least oneembodiment, the expandable vertical tubular bladders run up the centerof the back portion of the seat behind or within the foam padding. Thesize of the vertical tubular bladders can be any suitable size andshape, and in at least one embodiment are relevant to the total lengthof the back foam pad. In at least one embodiment, the internal volume ofeach of the bladders is 80,000 mm³ (cubic millimeters) deflated and160,000 mm³ (cubic millimeters) inflated, and each has a pressure of 20to 50% more psi than the surrounding cushion area. While notillustrated, it should be understood that the air bladder assembly 150could have one relatively large tube that extends across the thoracicregion of a user's spine.

The details, designs, variants, aspects and embodiments shown anddescribed herein are applicable to automotive, other vehicular, andnon-regulated seating. While exemplary embodiments are described above,it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms ofthe invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words ofdescription rather than limitation, and it is understood that variouschanges may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Additionally, the features of various implementingembodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of theinvention. It should be understood that the present disclosurecontemplates a seat system or a thoracic region support seating systemcomprising any combination of features shown in the figures and/ordescribed in the application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle seat comprising: a seatback comprisinga cushion having a first hardness, the cushion having a top, a bottom, acentral axis extending between the top and the bottom, a recessextending along the central axis, an upper foam portion disposed abovethe recess along the central axis, and a lower foam portion disposedbelow the recess along the central axis; and a pneumatic thoracicsupport structure positioned within the recess of the cushion, alowermost region of the pneumatic thoracic support structure beingspaced from a bottom edge of the seatback, the pneumatic thoracicsupport structure comprising a first bladder selectively inflatable toprovide a first area having a second hardness higher than the firsthardness, the first area being disposed in the upper half of theseatback and having a length extending along the central axis and awidth extending across the central axis, with the length being greaterthan the width such that the first area extends along the central axisand is aligned with a thoracic region of a user's spine when a user isseated in the seat to provide support to at least a portion of thethoracic region of the user's spine.
 2. The vehicle seat of claim 1wherein the cushion is 2 to 10 cm thick and the first area is disposedbetween the center of the seatback and the upper one-third of theseatback.
 3. The vehicle seat of claim 2 further comprising a metallicframe, the cushion being disposed on the frame, wherein the cushion hasan upper surface, a lower surface, with the recess extending from theupper surface towards the lower surface, with the support structurebeing located within the recess.
 4. The vehicle seat of claim 1 whereinthe support structure comprises a second bladder selectively inflatableto provide a second area having a third hardness higher than the firsthardness, the second area being disposed adjacent to and below the firstarea.
 5. The vehicle seat of claim 4 wherein the first bladder has awidth of 5-20 cm, a length of 7-20 cm and inflates to a pressure of0.2-8 psi, and the second bladder has a width of 5-20 cm, a length of3-10 cm and inflates to a pressure of 0.2-8 psi.
 6. The vehicle seat ofclaim 1 wherein the support structure comprises a center bladder zone, aleft bladder zone, and a right bladder zone, the center bladder zonebeing laterally disposed between the left and right bladder zones, thefirst bladder being disposed within the center bladder zone, the center,left and right bladder zones being actuatable so that the center bladderzone provides a higher pressure than either of the left and rightbladder zones.
 7. The vehicle seat of claim 3 further comprising a trimmaterial covering the support structure.
 8. The vehicle seat of claim 1wherein the first bladder comprises a vertically extending tubularbladder having a varying wall thickness so that certain portions willinflate while other portions will remain relatively unchanged inresponse to an increase of pressure buildup in the tubular bladder. 9.The vehicle seat of claim 7 wherein the seatback is to be connected to aseat frame adapted for mounting in a vehicle.
 10. The vehicle seat ofclaim 3 wherein a lowermost region of the recess is spaced from thebottom edge of the seatback.
 11. The vehicle seat of claim 10 wherein aportion of the cushion of the seatback is disposed at a forward surfaceof the seatback between the lowermost region of the recess and thebottom edge of the seatback to space the lowermost region of the recessfrom the bottom edge of the seatback.
 12. The vehicle seat of claim 1wherein the pneumatic thoracic support structure comprises a secondbladder positioned adjacent to the cushion and adjacent to the firstbladder such that a top edge of the second bladder is disposed below abottom edge of the first bladder.
 13. The vehicle seat of claim 12wherein a width of the second bladder generally corresponds to a widthof the first bladder.
 14. The vehicle seat of claim 3 wherein the recesshas a substantially constant width along a length of the recess.
 15. Avehicle seat comprising: a seatback having a top, a bottom and a centralaxis extending between the top and the bottom of the seatback, theseatback having a foam cushion having a first hardness, the foam cushionhaving a cavity extending lengthwise along the central axis and locatedbetween the midpoint and upper one-third of the seatback such that alowermost region of the cavity is spaced from a bottom edge of theseatback, the foam cushion having foam portions adjacent the cavity; anda pneumatic thoracic support structure positioned within the cavity inthe seatback, the pneumatic thoracic support structure having a lengthextending along the central axis and a width extending transverse to thecentral axis, with the width being smaller than the length, thepneumatic support structure being selectively inflatable to provide anarea having a second hardness, the second hardness being 25-200% higherthan the first hardness.
 16. The vehicle seat of claim 15 wherein thepneumatic thoracic support structure is positioned within the cavity inthe seatback such that a lowermost region of the pneumatic thoracicsupport structure is spaced from the bottom edge of the seatback. 17.The vehicle seat of claim 15 wherein the support structure comprises afirst bladder selectively inflatable to provide the area having thesecond hardness.
 18. The vehicle seat of claim 15 wherein the supportstructure comprises a second bladder selectively inflatable to cooperatewith the first bladder to provide the area having the second hardness,the second bladder being disposed adjacent to and below the firstbladder.
 19. A pneumatic thoracic support structure positionable withina cavity of vehicle seatback comprising a foam cushion having a firsthardness and a cavity located between the midpoint and upper one-thirdof the seatback such that a lowermost region of the cavity is spacedfrom a bottom edge of the seatback, the pneumatic thoracic supportstructure comprising: a selectively inflatable volume having a secondhardness when inflated, the second hardness being 25-200% higher thanthe first hardness, the selectively inflatable volume having a lengthand a width smaller than the length and being disposed within the cavityto be aligned lengthwise with a thoracic region a user's spine when thesupport structure is positioned within the cavity and when a user isseated in the seat to provide support to at least a portion of thethoracic region of the user's spine.
 20. The pneumatic thoracic supportstructure of claim 19 wherein the support structure comprises a firstbladder selectively inflatable to provide the area having the secondhardness.